Whether your goal is to learn Italian thoroughly, or to learn some Italian in Sydney before heading to Italy; if you are an absolute beginner or you have a smattering of Italian like the odd word or phrase, and you lead a busy life, our ​standard Italian Beginner 1 course- consisting of one 2.5 hour class per week, for a total of 8 consecutive weeks (20 hours tuition) and corresponding to level A1.1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages - is the course for you!

Starting dates & times:

Standard Italian Beginner 1 courseOne 2.5 hour class per week for a total of 8 weeks.

Evening:

​• Monday 17 June - ending 5/8 (6.15pm - 8.45pm)

Each class includes a short break.

Course price:

​​• $50 early bird discount (enrol by Monday 3 June):$245

​​• Standard course price:$295​​There is no need to purchase expensive textbooks. In fact the prices above include, at no extra cost, the Italia 500 Beginner 1 course notes, in Pdf format, & the Italia 500 Beginner 1 Practice CDs, in Mp3 format, which accompany the course, available for download on enrolment, &, of course, GST. Italia 500 does not charge an enrolment or membership fee.

​How to enrol:

Enrol securely onlineby debit or credit card, regardless whether you have a Paypal account or not. Click on the box above.

By enrolling in our courses you agree to our Terms & Conditions of enrolment so please take a moment to read these prior to enrolling.​If you have studied Italian before, or you've been self-learning Italian, or you have any doubts regarding your level please contact us prior to enrolling.

Where are the classes held?

Our Italian classes are held at Italia 500 which is located in King York House, at suite 304, level 3, 32 York Street Street in Sydney's CBD, between Market and King streets, opposite The Grace Hotel, and between Wynyard & Town Hall stations (View our location on Google Maps). Buses and metered parking (from 6pm) are all within short distance. If you are driving in, it is probably more convenient to park in a parking station. To find which is the cheapest parking station nearby, please click on this link: www.parkopedia.mobi, insert in the "Where are you going?" field, "32 York Street, Sydney", and the appropriate time range. Our office hours are generally 1.30pm to 6.00pm, Monday to Thursday, however, if you are planning to drop by, please contact us ahead.

Class size:

Our small class size (average of 12 students) allows for plenty of practice and allows you to meet a range of truly interesting people whose contagious enthusiasm turns each Italian lesson into a gathering of friends rather than a formal Italian class.

Italia 500 reviews:

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I have been enrolled in the italian classes and have enjoyed them so much! ​I have continued on through beginner 1,2&3. The building is centrally located and very easily accessible. The price is very competitive (I have yet to find a better price). The classes are small (about 10-12 people) so you really have chance to get some individual help throughout the lessons. The structure of the lessons flow really well and I was very surprised with how fast I picked up the basics! The structure follows common everyday themes e.g greetings, ordering food and getting directions and progresses so the earlier foundational dialogue that you learn gradually builds and builds to more advanced levels. The take home audio and booklets helped me take my learning beyond the classroom and gave me the power to learn at my own pace. The teachers are very pleasant and have a rich italian heritage so each lesson carries an authentic italian vibe as they share their stories and experiences. There are also plenty of resources that the centre has on hand to assist your learning so there is never a dull moment. Overall I highly recommend Italia 500. ​​

Aaron Ryan

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2015

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I've learnt more in 8 weeks with Giacomo and the other tutors than I did in3.5 years of high school Italian. The teachers are all native Italian speakers so they really know ​all the ins and outs of the language and culture. The location is great - it's right in the CBD and the classes are always enjoyable (i.e. hilarious!). Plus, there are no extra fees for textbooks; Giacomo has created his own booklets and audio guides to complement the course. The best bit is that it's not just reciting learnt lines over and over. We're encouraged to get creative and use what we've learnt in actual conversations with the other students. I highly recommend it and plan​to continue learning Italian here!

Stephanie M

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2016

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Italia 500 is a truly outstanding language course! Friday morning has becomemy favourite day of the week. Giacomo is quintessentially Italian and absolutely hilarious.Not only do I have a fantastic time with a lovely group of people, I cannot believe how quickly we have all developed conversation skills. I am just starting my third beginner course now, and fully intend to continue to sign up. Totally recommend this to everyone as the best way to learn Italian​and have a heap of fun in the process!!!!

Patricia McKenzie

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2016

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Ciao RagazziItalia 500 is an excellent school for learning Italian. I have been at Italia 500 forthree courses and I have been enjoying every minute of it. The head of the school Giacomois an excellent teacher and he is very knowledgeable. Giacomo does not use a textbook to teach, instead he makes his very own course notes as well as his own CDs. In the CDs Giacomo does not merely teach you words and phrases he explains the tenses of the beautiful Italian languageand how to use and conjugate them. The CDs are instructive but also humorous at times. So if you want to learn Italian come down to Italia 500 and start now.

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Patrick Bartolesi

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I did the one week Intensive Beginner 1 Course with Giacomo. He is an excellent teacher, ​using his experience to preempt confusion and explain things very clearly. We got lots of practice speaking, which I think is the hardest. Giacomo's friendly humour made learning fun, and made us feel comfortable to ask questions. The booklet was helpful and the online lesson recordings were great for practice at home - and these were included in the lesson cost. Exceptional value for money. Giacomo was very helpful on the phone and by email when I was deciding between courses.

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RosiEd O'Neill

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2017

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Great class and teachers! I have had Italian classes with Silvia (she's lovely) and Giacomo (hilarious!). The classes are all very interactive with role play and lots of dialogue practice so you'll be conversation-ready in a few weeks. Good value for money as well as they give you audio tapes and a study book for no extra cost. I'm now in my second level course ​and plan to keep studying.

Kristel Tamkivi

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2016

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Great teachers, very entertaining classes. Easy going learning environment, the teachers ​are all from Italy, so you learn the correct pronunciation. The classes are great value for money as you don't have to buy any textbooks, all resources are provided to you including comprehensive audio files.

Madeleine Luttrell

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Great comfortable environment to learn the italian language. Our teachers are all native italian speakers who have great insight into the culture of Italy. Although the classes are fun and interactive there is also a grammar element present in each lesson we learn. ​Best spot to date that I've found in the CBD to learn the Italian language.

Rickus Coleman

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Italia 500 is fantastic. The owner Giacomo makes sure that he hires people from Italy, ​allowing the students to not only get an education in the Italian language, but to additionally get an insight into the Italian culture. This is great and very intriguing, and adds a lot to the experience of learning a new language! As all of the teachers are, Giacomo himself is very enthusiastic and entertaining, and expresses himself fantastically well so that you as the student can understand easily! The class sizes are small, usually around 10-12 students per class, so everyone gets face time with the teacher and everyone gets a chance to ask questions. With an easy to access location and an environment that is very warm and inviting, I highly recommend Italia 500 to anyone who wants to learn about the Italian language and culture from Italians themselves!!

Marcus F

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2015

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Great classes and wonderful teachers! Giacomo and the other teachershave been a pleasure to learn from – creating an interesting and interactive learning environment using practical conversations. Definitely a great place to go whether you need Italian for travelling or just want to learn for fun. Highly recommended! : )

Course outline:

In our Beginner 1 course you’ll start speaking "real" Italian from the very first lesson. You'll learn how to talk about yourself and ask others about themselves ("What is your name?; How are you?; nationality; Whereabouts are you from?, etc). We learn how to invite someone to have a coffeeor a drink and order in a café and how to ask for and understand directions. We learn (and please, don’t let the grammatical terms put you off) about the “formal” and “informal” distinction and how to apply it, about the “masculine” and “feminine”. We start to learn how to "conjugate" the present tense of Italian verbs; we touch upon the past tense; we study the verb piacere(which is the verb we use to say “I like” or “I don’t like"), and, of course, we learn the greetings, numbers and polite expressions. You will be surprised by how much you will learn in eight weeks and by how much fun it is to learn and speak Italian!Learn about our approach to teaching Italian.

Aiming for fluency in Italian?

Our Italian courses are ideal for those aiming to achieve a high degree of fluency in Italian. In our Beginner courses (Beginner 1, 2 & 3) we start to build up our Italian vocabulary, to master the pronunciation, to learn how to construct sentences, to develop conversational skills so that you can actually hold a conversation relating to both practical topics and conversational topics, and to gain an understanding of how the language works - i.e. the grammar which we explain in the simplest and clearest of manners.

​Italian for travellers:

Even only a basic knowledge of Italian makes such a difference when visiting Italy. We assume that the vast majority of our students will be travelling to Italy, either for the first time or will be returning to Italy in the future, so our beginner courses cover also a wide range of topics ideal for travellers and you'll find them extremely useful in providing you with the basic Italian and the travel tips that will truly enhance your visit to Italy.

​Our practice CDs:

Our Italian Practice CDs, available in Mp3 format, have proven to be very popular with our students. They allow you to practise the vocabulary, the expressions and phrases, and the dialogue covered in your Italian class by repeating it several times, each time leaving a gap so that you can repeat it yourself. One of the most appealing features of the Practice CDs is that you can download them to your phone and listen to them in your car, at the gym, whilst you catch public transport or take the dog for a walk, and they represent a continuation of the class outside of class. They are also very useful if you happen to miss a class.

​Unsure of your level?

If you have studied Italian before, or you've been self-learning Italian, and you are wondering whether you should join the Italia 500 Italian Beginner 1 course or a higher level course, please contact us to enquire prior to enrolling.

​As a general guide, if you studied Italian, in Australia, in primary school and/or secondary school up to year 10, our Beginner 1 course is most likely to be the suitable course for you - you'll find that you'll be familiar with some of the content of the very first lesson of the Beginner 1 course but after that we'll be covering what will be new ground for you. If you studied Italian in Year 11, you may or may not be suited to the Beginner 1 course: it depends very much how long ago it was and how far into year 11 you studied Italian. If you studied Italian in year 12 or at university as an undergraduate, no matter how long ago it was, please do call us as the Beginner 1 course is not a "refresher" course: it assumes no prior knowledge.

​If you are from Italian background but you know only the odd word or phrase, it is most likely that the Italian Beginner 1 course will be the appropriate course for you but, again, if in doubt, please call us. Also, if you've learnt a foreign language or other foreign languages, and you know - no need to be modest - that you are very good at picking up languages please call us before enrolling as it may be more appropriate and challenging for you to skip a level and cover the previous level via the CDs. You would still have, thanks to the "storyboards", ample opportunity to practise in class the previous level's topics.

​Double your learning rate:

If you would like to increase your learning rate and attend twice a week, you can enrol in a Beginner 2 course and attend both the Beginner 1 and Beginner 2 courses in the same week. For further information and availability please contact us.